


Cross My Heart

by hargrovemax



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Fluff, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Rivalry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-20 19:20:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20680580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hargrovemax/pseuds/hargrovemax
Summary: Potter looked up, and Scorpius could see realization dawning in his eyes. “Someone they would hate,” he repeated thoughtfully, “And who would the Potters hate more than a Malfoy?”Albus comes up with the perfect way to get back at his meddling family.





	1. Chapter 1

Scorpius looked up from his book as Albus Potter entered the common room, his steps heavy and his face burning red. He’d never see him look this angry, and he couldn’t help but be a little curious.

“What are you doing here?” Potter said, visibly irritated.

“I’m, er, sitting here?” Scorpius said, slightly amused. “This is a common room, you know. You’re especially slow today, Potter,”

Potter glared at him. “You’re actually such a git,” he snapped. “And forget it, I’ll go somewhere else,” he said, turning away. 

“A pleasure talking to you as always,” Scorpius said, smirking. “Anyway, is there a reason your face is sporting the iconic Weasley red?”

“That was your worst one yet and you know it,” Potter said, eyes narrowed, and Scorpius only laughed. “Why do you care anyway?” Albus said, arms crossed. Scorpius couldn’t answer that. There was no reason for him to be asking, he barely talked to Albus. Sure, they didn’t hate each other, but they’d always been so competitive about everything, whether it was their OWLs marks or Quidditch. Personal matters just never came up when they were neck to neck. 

Scorpius shrugged. “This book is boring me,” he said dismissively. “Plus, an angry Potter is the most entertaining kind,” he said grinning. Albus chucked a pillow at him, which he dodged artfully. 

“Well, you are the only person around,” Potter noted, glancing around the empty common room. He sighed and plopped himself on the couch across the other boy. 

“Basically, I’m fucked,” Albus said, throwing his head back against the couch cushions. “If I don’t bring someone home this Christmas, I’m basically getting disowned. Or set up with some uptight girl from Beauxbatons that my cousin keeps talking about.”

“Life’s hard when you’re Potter offspring, eh?,” Scorpius said, not bothering to hide his amusement. “I mean, they should really understand that nobody would go out someone as annoying as you are,”

“Shut up Malfoy,” Potter said, glowering. “And this is exactly why I don’t talk to you.” He buried his head in his hands in dismay, and Scorpius felt sorry for him for a moment.

“Fine, a word of advice for you?” he said. “Do the exact opposite of that. Bring home someone so horrible that they’ll regret ever telling you to bring a date. Someone they would hate. That’s what I’d do, just royally piss them off.”

Potter looked up, and Scorpius could see realization dawning in his eyes. “Someone they would hate,” he repeated thoughtfully, “And who would the Potters hate more than a Malfoy?”

Scorpius coughed, sitting up noticeably. “I’m sorry, I must have heard that wrong,”

Albus had leapt from his seat. “No, think about it. That’s perfect!” he said, eyes bright with a glint of evil. “They’d hate you so much, and then they would finally lay off me for a while.”

Scorpius spluttered and managed to say, “I haven’t even agreed to this yet!” He shook his head. “There’s no way in hell I would pretend to be your boyfriend,” he said as if the very idea was laughable.

Albus was still rambling. “Maybe my mother will kick you out too!” he said, grinning, and Scorpius’s eyes widened. 

“Jesus, Potter, you’re not doing a very good job of selling this to me.”

“Scorpius,” Potter said slowly. “Please say you’ll do this.”

Scorpius quirked an eyebrow. This must be important to him if he was being nice to a Malfoy of all people. “What’s in it for me?” Scorp said.

“I’ll do your homework for the rest of the semester.”

“I don’t need someone to do my work worse than I do.”

“Two months worth of Honeydukes candy.”

“I think I have enough money for myself, Potter.”

“I’ll set you up with James?”

“I’d rather you set me up with an actual troll.”

Potter paused. “Do you really? Because I might know one-“

Scorpius shot him a look, and Albus finally looked defeated. He turned to his last resort, which Scorp knew all too well. Potter’s eyes looked desperate now, this pathetic, puppy-like expression that Scorpius had to feel sorry for. 

“I really, really need this, Malfoy,” he asked and his expression looked pitiful as ever.  
That was when he realized. Scorpius had the upper hand here. He could have Potter do anything he wanted. Literally anything. His mind was racing.

“Fine,” Scorpius said finally. “But you owe me the hugest favour known to mankind.” 

Potter’s face split into an immediate grin. A devious one at that. “I’m going to have so much fun with this.”

“Please tell me I’m not going to regret this.”

“No guarantees,” Albus drawled. Scorpius could have thrown up in his mouth. 

“How is this even going to work?” Scorpius said. “Won’t your cousins notice something’s up? Anyone who’s seen us interact knows we’d never even think of dating each other.”

Potter chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully. “We can say you confessed your undying love for me and I accepted out of pity?”

“...”

“No?” Albus said, shoulders slumping. “Well, we can figure something out.” 

Scorpius looked doubtful, but he decided he wouldn’t press on further. The less they talked about this, the better.

“Oh shit, I forgot,” Al said suddenly. “Don’t you have plans over the break?”

Scorpius swallowed and shook his head. “I don’t. I was planning on staying here for the break and heading back home on Christmas day.”

“Really?” Potter said, cocking his head. “You’re not going home for the week?”

He looked up. “No. I’m not.” Scorpius said.

“But why not-” Albus began.

“Fucking drop it, Potter,” Scorpius snapped, avoiding his gaze. “I’m going along with your dumb plan, so let’s leave it at that.”

Scorpius could have sworn he saw a little flash of hurt in the other boy’s eyes. He knew he shouldn’t have lashed out, but talking about his personal life with Albus Potter of all people was a huge no. He stood up, deciding he was done with the conversation. 

“By the way, we leave for the Burrow tomorrow,” Albus said behind him. Scorpius turned around. “So get ready to put up this facade next morning, cause this whole thing fails if James and Rose catch on.”

Scorpius shook his head. “This is a hell of a favour, Potter.”

“It’ll be fun!”

“Far from it, I’m guessing,”

\----

Everybody was staring.

Of course, they would be. It wasn’t every day that you’d see Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter walking to Hogsmeade together. Not to mention, they were very, very close. Uncomfortably so.

As they were standing at the station platform with their luggage in hand, Scorpius shot a look at the boy next to him. Albus had three large suitcases, somehow. “I hate this so much,” He whispered between his teeth.

“I don’t like it any more than you. But don’t worry,” Al whispered back. “I’ll publicly dump you when we get back, and this will all finally be over.”

“Who said you got to do the dumping?”

“This is my plan-” Albus stopped when he noticed two figures heading towards them. His fists tightened “It’s now or never, Malfoy,”

Rose Weasley grinned at them, lugging a bulging suitcase behind her. She was all bouncy red curls and pink-tinged cheeks in the December frost. Scorpius would say they were friends, to some extent. Rose was one of the more tolerable Weasleys, and they got along fairly well. However, that also meant he was terrified she’d see right through their facade.

“Scorpius!” she exclaimed. “I haven’t seen you in ages.” she raised her eyebrow when she noticed Al, and her gaze switched between the two of them. “So, do you wanna explain what this is, or-”

Al’s arm slipped around Scorpius’s waist and tugged him close, and Scorpius stiffened. He watched Rose’s eyes widen in realization. “Are you guys-? Are the two of you-? Are you and Albus-?” she managed, the most shaken expression on her face.

Albus rolled his eyes. “Yes, we’re dating.” he tightened his grip around Scorpius, and Scorp wanted to scream. Why was he so jittery? It was Albus Potter, of all people. But something in the way his strong arm looped around Scorpius in almost a protective manner made something stir inside him.“Don’t look so surprised,” Al drawled. Rose’s hand came up to clamp her mouth. 

Then Albus turned his head to lean towards him, his hot breath brushing Scorpius’s neck. “Loosen up,” he whispered into Scorp’s ear. “You’re making it look like I forced you to be here.”

“Well, technically-” Scorpius whispered back, but he stopped when he noticed the other figure who had caught up to Rose. James Potter was eyeing them, his hazel eyes glinting with suspicion. 

“This is new,” James said, smirking. “Since when have you taken such an interest in my little brother, Malfoy?” 

“Longer than you’d approve of, Potter.”

Scorpius had finally started to play the act, He loosened his shoulders, relaxing into Albus’s touch. It must have seemed convincing enough, because Rose didn’t seem skeptical as much as delighted, now. She turned to James, beaming. “That’s ten galleons you owe me now, Jamie.” 

James sighed and reached into the pocket of his robes, exasperatedly slapping ten golden coins into his cousin’s hand. Rose looked very happy with himself, though Albus was staring at the two of them incredulously. 

“Did you fucking bet on us getting together?” Al spluttered, dropping his hand from Scorp’s waist. Scorpius had to admit he missed the feeling of it being there. 

“Of course I did,” Rose said, pocketing her new-earned money. “But it’s a win-win! You get a boyfriend, I get new broom polish.”

Albus huffed. He grabbed Scorpius’s wrist and pulled them towards the train carriages, leaving his very amused cousins behind on the platform. Scorpius had no choice but to follow, allowing Al’s death grip on his hand to lead them inside a compartment. When the found an empty one, Albus slammed the door shut. 

“What was that about?” Scorpius said, trying not to laugh. As he said, an angry Albus Potter was a sight to see. He could almost see the steam billowing out of his fire-engine red ears. 

“Exactly! How could they make a bet-”

“No, I meant you. Why’d you freak out?” Scorpius took a seat across the other boy, trying to piece together the expression on his face. “I honestly think you might need some anger management, Potter.”

Albus crossed his arms. “They bet on us, Malfoy,” he said, “They literally thought we’d actually get together.” 

“Wow, I’m almost hurt that you’re so offended,” Scorp said sarcastically, but he wasn’t completely lying. Was it so hard to imagine that the two of them could be together? They had to convince everyone else, after all, so why was Albus so appalled by the idea of it?

“You know what I mean,” Al said, leaning back. “The two of us actually dating… it would never happen.”

Scorpius nodded, trying to ignore the way it stung. “Anyway, is there a reason we’re in this compartment alone?” he asked. 

“Well, we need a plan,” Al replied matter-of-factly. “Figure out how we’re going to sell this whole thing to my entire family.” 

Scorpius winced. “Can’t we just tell them we’re dating and be done with it?”

Albus shook his head, aghast. “They’d never buy it,” he said. “There’d need to be kissing and hugging, obviously, and we’d have to be super lovey-dovey or something.”

Scorp almost choked. “You’re going to kiss me?”

“Only when it’s absolutely necessary,” Al said. “Try not to fall for me,” he smirked. 

Albus was the most confusing person he’d met. One minute he was aghast at the idea of them being together, and now it almost seemed like he was flirting? Scorpius laughed. “Don’t worry, Potter, there’s not a chance.”

Just then, the compartment door slid open. Rose had picked the perfect time to show up, as she did. Her eyes flitted between the two of them, them she nodded knowingly. “Oh right, I suppose you’d like some-” she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Privacy.”  
Scorpius grimaced. “Rose!” 

Rose only giggled. “Don’t worry, I’ll leave you to it,” she paused before she turned to leave. “Oh, and I might have already told Lily about this. Frankly, she’s a little offended you didn’t already tell her, Al.” 

She slid the door shut and Albus beamed. 

“What?” Scorpius asked.

“If Lily knows, it’s not long until the entire family finds out,” he replied. “And that means this is going wonderfully.”

\---

The Burrow looked like the warmest place in the world. When they finally arrived, Scorpius was a little taken aback. Sure, he’d heard Rose talk about it, but seeing it was something else. The place seemed to emanate the feeling of home, the crackling of the fireplace inside and the empty Christmas tree he could glimpse through the window.

Al was behind him, lugging his three suitcases behind him. 

‘  
“Merlin, Al, why do you have so much shit?”

Albus looked up, “I don’t think you want to know the answer to that,” 

Scorpius agreed and turned back to the Burrow. About a week of this. He didn’t know if he’d be able to manage all of it. He was so out of place among these people. They were family, and he was the outsider that had intruded upon it. 

Al interrupted his thoughts by gripping his wrist and yanking them towards the door. “You ready?” Al whispered, just as they got to the door. There was a jumble of voices from inside, and loud music warbling from the radios. Scorpius gulped and nodded, stepping inside the Burrow for the first time. 

but before he could even consider it, a stout woman came rushing out with oven mitts and an apron around her waist, probably the biggest smile he’d ever seen. Her face was deeply wrinkled, yet her hair was still that bright Weasley red that Scorpius could have recognized anywhere.

She embraced each of Al’s cousins separately. Scorpius didn’t even know how anyone could remember all their names. Having a family this big was still bizarre to him, and the only kinds of Christmases that Scorpius had known for the first sixteen years of his life had been a hearty family dinner with his parents and an exchanging of presents. This, however, was an entirely different world. 

When the woman, who Scorpius reckoned was Al’s grandmother, got to them, she beamed at Albus and hugged him tightly. Then, as she noticed Scorpius, she looked at him questioningly. “And this is-?”

“Meet Scorpius Malfoy,” Albus replied instantly. Scorpius crossed his fingers and hoped there wouldn’t be too many questions.

Fortunately, Grandma Weasley didn’t seem to mind his last name too much. She greeted him with a warm smile. “Aren’t you just adorable!” she exclaimed, pinching his cheek lightly. “Al, take him to the kitchen.”

Albus obliged. He could see how much Potter cared about his grandmother and felt a strange sense of longing. Grandparents were a touchy subject for Scorp. 

Al handed him a steaming mug of hot chocolate, and Scorpius had never been so thankful. It was freezing outside, and the warmth from the cup in his hands spread through his entire body. 

A tall woman with flaming red hair pinned up in a bun approached them. Unlike the warm smiles he’d gotten from Grandma Weasley, this woman’s lips were drawn in a thin, tight line. He’d be blind to not recognize her at once- Ginny Potter. And of course, she recognized him too, the platinum blonde hair and sharp nose gave him off as a Malfoy instantaneously. 

She forced a smile at Scorpius. “Al, what is-” she began, but she stopped mid-sentence as Al wrapped an arm around Scorp’s shoulders. “Mum, meet my boyfriend, Scorpius,” he said casually as if he didn’t just announce to his mother that he was dating a Malfoy. Ginny didn’t even have time to process it before Al kissed Scorpius’s cheek slightly. Scorpius almost dropped the mug. This was Albus Potter, he had to remind himself, he was literally the most infuriating person Scorp knew. So why did his stomach do somersaults when Al kissed him? 

He didn’t miss the distaste on Ginny’s face, though. Scorpius stuck out a hand. “It’s good to finally meet you!” he said as cheerfully as possible. Ginny Potter looked down at his hand, flashed that uncomfortable smile again and walked away. Scorp turned to his faux-boyfriend, smirking. “She absolutely hates me, Potter,”

“Perfect,” Al said. “And you probably need to stop calling me that, considering there are four other Potters in this house.”

“Right, how’s Albus?”

He paused for a moment. “Yeah, Albus is alright,” he said thoughtfully. Scorpius couldn’t quite place the look on his face, so he brushed it off.  
\---  
Dinner at the Potter-Weasley household was a world of chaos. A simple spell had elongated the dinner table nearly threefold, so all of the cousins and aunts and uncles and nieces could squish in together. There were constantly dishes flying back and forth the table and a hundred conversations that Scorpius couldn’t tell apart from each other.

And the worst part was that Scorpius loved it. His whole life, dinner had been a sombre, quiet occasion with casual small talk, but this was cozy, this was bubbling with excitement. This made him feel warm inside. And he shouldn’t be, because he knew he’d never come back here after this week.

Albus was sitting beside him, engaged in a heated debate about which kind of salad dressing was superior (Scorpius thought it best not to get involved) so he turned to Lily Potter, who was watching him with an intent expression. 

“Don’t worry, Scorpius, not every dinner is going to be this hectic,” she said, giggling at the reassuring look on his face. “But if you think this is bad, wait until you see Christmas Dinner.” 

Scorpius smiled. “I honestly can’t wait.”

Lily nodded thoughtfully, digging into her mashed potatoes, then looked back up at Scorpius. “You know, I’m glad you guys finally got together,” she mused. Scorp bristled at the word ‘finally’, trying to figure out what she meant. “I mean, with the way Al always talks about you, it wasn’t a big surprise.” 

Scorpius nearly dropped his fork. He couldn’t give away his confusion though, so he simply laughed and agreed. Lily still had that strange, calculating look on her face, and he began to wonder if she was a Slytherin in Gryffindor skin. 

Albus talked about him. It didn’t make sense, of course, but he assumed it had something to do with their Quidditch matches. Why else would he mention Scorpius? They were barely friends. 

With perfect timing, Albus turned to him with a spoonful of soup. “Have you tried this?” he said too-cheerfully, and Scorpius barely had time to process it before Al was gently feeding him the soup. This whole damn family was going to drive him insane. He put on a grin and swallowed, commenting on how great it tasted, then leaned close to Al. 

“What was that?” he hissed. 

“My mom was watching us,” Albus replied easily. “Look at her now.”

Scorpius looked across the table, to where Ginny Weasley had the sourest expression on her face, and he had to laugh a little. He was at least going to have some fun over this weekend.


	2. Chapter 2

Scorpius was rudely awakened that morning with the sound of an air horn in his face.

His eyes shot open, and he sat up, alarmed. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows of the guest room he’d been given. Scorpius covered his eyes irritably “What the fuck?” he murmured through his sleep, and looked up to see Al’s face grinning down at him. 

“Well, good morning to you too,” Al said cheerily. Scorpius groaned and hurled a pillow at Al, who caught it with ease. “I’ve always wanted to do that to you,” Albus said, tossing the pillow back. “Now wake up, breakfast’s going to get cold.”

“I’ve never hated you more,” Scorpius scowled, throwing the sheets off reluctantly. If there was one thing he hated, it was waking up early. However, the little alarm clock on his bedside told him it was 11 AM. He scowled at it too, and Albus laughed. 

“I’ll see you in the kitchen,” the boy piped, before slipping out of the room. Scorpius trudged out of bed, yawning, and looked over to see Al’s bed across the room perfectly made. Frankly, Scorpius was a little surprised that they’d been allowed to share a room, especially with the way Al’s cousin Hugo had wiggled his eyebrows at them when he came in to say goodnight. 

When he headed downstairs after washing up, the kitchen was a flurry of commotion. Turns out that breakfast at the Burrow was just as chaotic as dinner, even more so with all the people Scorpius hadn’t seen last night. 

He took a seat next to Al, who was helping himself to a heap of french toast on his plate. Scorp couldn’t help but smirk as he sat down. 

“Wow, Al, your bedhead has never looked better,” he teased. He’d always thrown snarky comments at Potter for his unapologetically messy hair, but there was no hint of malice in his voice now. This was playful, almost.

Albus rolled his eyes and leaned over to ruffle Scorpius’s neatly brushed hair, making it stick up oddly. Scorpius spluttered, nearly choking on his orange juice, and looked at Albus indignantly. “What was that for?”

“There, now we match!” Al said, his grin ear to ear. “Your hair was looking a little too perfect there, love,”

This time, the juice sloshed down Scorpius’s front. Thankfully, Al had gotten up to put his plate away, so he hadn’t noticed. Scorp didn’t know why being called ‘love’ had caused such a reaction in him, but it was strangely endearing. Especially the softness with which Al had said it.

Being too preoccupied with his conflicting emotions, Scorpius barely noticed Lily Potter watching the whole ordeal go down. She had a calculating expression etched on her face as if she could tell that everything wasn’t quite as it seemed. After all, the blush that tinged Scorpius’s face was one of an undiscovered crush, not a mutual relationship. 

\---

The afternoon had greeted them with a thick blanket of snow, so Al’s uncle Charlie had dragged them outside earnestly, babbling something about skis and sleds. Scorp, of course, did not understand a single word, but since everyone had bundled up and headed outside, he decided to follow anyway.

Charlie led them up a small hill, the pack of Potter-Weasleys trudging behind them with varying degrees of excitement. Al and Scorp lingered at the back, and Albus was pointing out and naming every single cousin. Scorpius wasn’t quite following, but the excited gleam in Al’s eyes as he talked about his cousins was enough to get him to listen. 

Albus had linked fingers through Scorp’s clasping his hand tightly. “No one’s watching us,” Scorp pointed out, but Al insisted it would make the relationship seem more legitimate. Not that Scorpius was complaining, because the warmth of Al’s hand felt wonderful against the blustering winds, but he couldn’t help but wonder about it a little.

When they got to the top, Charlie waved his wand, and about a dozen or so objects appeared; they were wooden planks with runners on the bottom. Scorpius had never seen anything so strange. He prodded it with his foot. It wasn’t magical whatsoever, he realized. What could they possibly do with some wood boards? 

The rest of the Weasleys seemingly knew what to do, having had done this before. Scorp watched, amazed, as they sat on the wood planks, nearly 2 or 3 of them on each. Albus laughed at the bemused look on his face and dragged them to their own ‘sled’ as they were called. 

“What exactly are we doing?” Scorpius wondered out loud, throwing skeptical glances at Al’s cousins. 

Albus grinned. “I can’t believe you’ve never been sledding before,” he said incredulously. Scorpius shook his head, and Al looked nearly appaled. “That’s alright, you can learn quick enough. He sat down at the front of the sled, grabbing the strings and beckoning Scorpius to sit down behind him. Scorpius did so begrudgingly, still not understanding how this was going to work. 

“You’re going to have to get closer than that, Scorp,” he said, reaching behind to take Scorpius’s arms and wrap them around Al’s waist. They were unbelievably close now; Scorpius’s breath was tickling the hairs on Al’s neck and his chest was pressed flush against his back. Scorpius was trying his very hardest to think straight, but somehow his mind kept going to the warmth of Al’s body, and how nice it felt to be so close-

“The first team down gets the first round of hot chocolate,” Charlie called out from very, very far away. “Now, go!”

“Wait, what?” Scorpius barely had time to say before Al had kicked off from the top of the hill. They were hurtling downwards, the runners on the end of the sled gliding smoothly through the snow. The world passed by in a scarily fast blur. 

Scorpius tightened his grip on Al’s waist, burying his face in Albus’s neck. “Holy shit,” he gasped. “Holy fucking shit, this is not what I-”

He cut off as Albus swerved dangerously out of the way of a large rock. Scorpius was holding on for dear life now, clinging to other boy like a leech, but in front of him, he heard the rumble of Al’s laughter. “You’re adorable when you’re afraid, you know that?” Al said, turning his head slightly to look at Scorpius. Scorp felt himself blush, but the moment was short-lived, as they collided nearly head-first into an abnormally large boulder. 

Scorpius felt the breath punched out of his lungs. The sled came to a stop, the two of them flung into the air and then tumbling down the hill. It was shockingly cold as the snow seeped through his jacket, and he was breathless when he finally came to a stop at the bottom of the hill. Al followed not long after, landing on top of him. Albus was grinning though, his face red and his smile wide. 

“That was mental,” Albus whispered. Scorpius was still slightly in shock, but as he came to his senses, he realized that yet again, they were incredibly close. He could feel the warmth of Al’s breath as he spoke, and the gentle weight of his body on top of Scorp’s. Scorpius couldn’t look away. Their faces were close, almost too close, and Scorpius had never noticed how soft the other boy’s lips were...

“Merlin, get a room, you two!” Rose yelled, followed by a chorus of laughter. Albus rolled off of him, looking flustered. It was hard to miss the pink tinge in his cheeks, but he recovered quickly enough, his face splitting into a sheepish grin. Scorpius, however, was still trying to process what had just happened. 

Hugo helped him to his feet, wiggling his eyebrows again, and Scorpius groaned. After that incident, he was pretty sure it would not be very difficult at all for Al’s family to believe that they were together. And of course, they’d have to put up with Hugo’s incessant teasing about it.

Rose and James had reached the bottom first; they made it very clear along the entire walk back. But Scorpius hadn’t been paying much attention, instead, he couldn’t make his mind stop replaying the moment from before.

Once they’d gotten out of their wet, chilly clothes, they trooped into the kitchen and picked up the steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Scorpius could feel the warmth spread through his body as he took a sip, and it was wonderfully comforting. 

After a slightly less chaotic dinner than last night’s, everyone trudged upstairs, worn out from the antics of the day. Scorpius threw back the covers and climbed into bed, not even bothering to change, and Al laughed at him from his side of the room. 

“You’re going to regret that in the morning- hey!” he cut off suddenly, and pressed his ear against the door. “Do you hear that?” he whispered. 

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. It was past twelve, he didn’t expect anyone to still be awake. Still, he clambered out of bed and stood next to Al, straining to hear. There was a garble of voices from the other end of the hall, but he couldn’t make out the words. 

“You have Extendable Ears, don’t you?” Scorpius said after nearly a minute of pressing their ears to the door. 

Al nodded and summoned them with his wand. Nearly everyone had a pair these days, and it was hard to think of what it would be like if they hadn’t been invented.

Scorpius could make out Ginny Weasley’s sharp, clear voice at once. 

“...and I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just that I don’t like it.”

“He’s just a boy! There isn’t anything to worry about, dear.” This was undoubtedly Grandma Weasley, he knew.

This time a male voice spoke, much deeper. Scorpius supposed it was one of Al’s uncles, and he continued listening with growing unease.“Sure, but the whole family is bad news, Mum. Who knows if he’s going to end up following in his father’s footsteps as a Death Eater or something-”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Ginny scoffed. “Either way, we can’t stop it, even though Albus can do much better-”

Albus finally pulled the Ears away in disgust. He was speechless, he seemed. Scorpius didn’t know what to say either. He looked at Al, and at the shocked look in his eyes, and his heart sank. 

  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  



End file.
